1) What country/region/state do you live in?
Minnesota
2) How long have you been homeschooling? Just getting started, old pro or somewhere in between?
Just starting our third year! Wow, where does time go!
3) Write a little something about your family. Ages? Stages?
One ten-year-old son, starting 5th grade.
4) Share some good homeschooling advice you’ve run across.
My own advice is to follow your heart. We know our kiddos better than anyone else, their learning styles, their likes, their dislikes, and what they need help with. I think if we listen to the little voice inside our head, we know the correct path to take.
5) Tell us something you’re passionate about (besides your family and homeschooling, those are givens!).
I am very passionate about genealogy. Very. It's my thing. Gardening is another passion of mine.
6) If you could take the ultimate field trip, where would you go and why?
The ultimate field trip would be an American history study in an RV visiting all the states. I'd like to see old homes, battlefields, museums, etc. In that field trip, I'd also like to visit my ancestors' towns, homes, places of work. (Many of my ancestors worked in places that are now a part of the national parks. While I would enjoy this, I don't know if my son would or not.
7) What is a resource you can’t do without?
Hands down, the internet.
8) How do you homeschool? Classical, Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, Unschooling, Eclectic?
Frankie method. Okay, eclectic. Actually I should say Thomas method. We homeschool to suit his learning style, which is varied. We unschool in science, we follow a classical outline for our history studies, we follow our own style for everything else.
9) Share a website or two that you visit often - can be your favorite blogger or a curriculum supplier, just any sites you really like.
Doc's blog, bloglines to keep track of the blogs I read, the blogs listed on my sidebar, and yes, I read The Well-Trained Mind's boards on a weekly basis. I'm also in lots of yahoo groups.
10) Tell us about one of your favorite projects/activities/trips you’ve had in the past few months.
Well, in Nov of 2005 we got on an airplane and visited Columbia, South Carolina for a week. My husband was working there and we went with him. We fell in love with South Carolina, hit every museum we could find, a wonderful zoo, toured historic homes, swam and even ate at a Waffle House Restaurant. (We were quite surprised there were more of these than McDonald's.) We also drove to Charleston for a day and toured Ft. Sumter, the South Carolina Aquarium, and an evening walking ghost tour of Chraleston. I must add that we met a good internet homeschool friend and her kids while we were there, and that was the highlight of the trip for me!
11) What is a current/previous homeschooling challenge you’ve faced?
Teaching Thomas speed, focus, concentration.
12) Share an accomplishment, something about you or your children. Come on, brag about it!
Well, I don't draw the line from homeschooling into activities, so I'll share that Thomas has won his Cub Scouts pack's Pinewood Derby two years in a row and also won the District Pinewood Derby two years in a row. Quite a feat, because those derbies are highly competitive. He spent many hours working on his cars and learned a lot.
13) What are you looking forward to over the coming year?
Starting up again in September! Taking an afternoon off here and there to go swimming. Tons of science that we -- Thomas actually helped -- have planned. The breaks that I worked into our schedule. Those wintertime blues really got to me and I planned some good breaks after the new year to help.
14) Name three things you like doing in the summer with your family.
Going to the beach, gardening with Thomas, sneaking off on a hot evening to get a McDonald's ice cream cone. Have to put in a number four here: Little excursions around our area, such as visiting Walnut Grove, MN to play in Plum Creek, or going to the Sioux Falls Zoo for the day, visiting the Jeffers Petroglyphs. I want to get to the Grotto of the Redemption in Iowa this summer, but Thomas doesn't want to go there even though it would be a great reinforcer of our geological studies this year. I think I'll make him go anyway.
15) Have a favorite homeschooling quote? Share it here.
Not a favorite homeschool quote, but a favorite quote I try to live by: Live and let live.
1 comment:
I love your home schooling advice, and I agree with it. Society often conditions people to believe that "experts" know more than they about how to raise and educate their own children. I also am a great believer in "live and let live."
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